5 Default Colognes for Dad’s Day

Fathers Day is coming on the 19th so I thought I would give a list of 5 scents that I think Dad would like. I’m not going to be totally niche-y here since A) I don’t know that the average Dad really needs or wants to be smelling of glove leather, Tikka Masala and sweat the way I do and B) when this is posted there will only be 5 shopping days for to one to purchase. So this list is going to be very Mall Friendly.

Bloomingdale’s carries Annick Goutal, and any Dad would love a bottle of Eau de Sud. It’s citrusy and green, wholly wonderful and often overlooked. At $115 for 3.4oz it’s a bit on the high-side, but it’s worth every penny.

They also carry the gorgeous original Acqua di Parma Colonia in the huge 6oz bottle for $136. It;s a gorgeous classic citrus that was a favorite of Cary Grant. Nothing wrong with that..

Sephora is of course one-stop shopping for this type of thing and they have them practically on the moon, the one place that Bloomingdale’s has not yet reached. So here’s 3 that I like from them:

Dior Eau Sauvage is a classic for a reason. It’s a gorgeous scent with its petitgrain, citrus and vetiver. It’s entirely work friendly; I’ve been wearing it since I was a teen and will continue to do so. Heck, I might want to be buried with it. 1.7oz is $54.

Bvlgari Black would be for the more adventurous Father, with its black tea and hint of rubber. But it is a masterpiece and at $77 for 2.5 oz, a bargain.

I wrote about Tom Ford for Men last week on PST, and I have to add it to the list of scents that would be perfect for Dad’s day. It smells expensive and suave, like the interiors in “A Single Man” look. You can’t go wrong there. At $62 for 1.7oz it’s also a steal.

If you have any suggestions for easily available scents for Father’s Day, leave a comment.

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14 Comments

Great post, Tom! Lo e all your choices! I think all the AG men’s/unisex are great (Sables, Duel, all the “Orientalistes”)! I’m inspired to try one for my husband! Miller Harris also is a great line and I’m thinking L’air de Rien (do you think that’s too much for someone not into scent? I think he’ll lo e it or hate it, and since I hate mediocracy I’m tempted to try; could always reclaim the bottle for myself :-)) or maybe Feuilles de Tabac? Our Dillards sells Miller Harris so it’s easy to get, and AG and MH, in my experience work well for those sensiti e to perfumes (I adore the classic Acqua di Parma, but it brings on migraines for alot of people).

For a say, eight year old child’s budget, if Dad’s not super into fragrance, how about regular Old Spice? I really do like the smell. And, if I had planned ahead, I would ha e gone on ebay and scoured for mini Serges like Ambre Sultan or Arabie for said child to gi e to father.

You are so lucky that you can get Miller Harris! It used to be as Saks and then Bloomingdales and now nowhere. l’air de rien I adore, but you might want to have him try before committing. Some hate it.

I have a soft spot for Old Spice. I like the new spokesman as well.. :d

I love to give Guerlain Imperiale, though at this point I’m not giving cologne – my pop is way beyond that (and…lawd, Tom, he took to not showering and then spraying AXE body spray! 😮 . I’m no perfume snob – but that stuff gave me a migraine. El O hates cologne, dangit. The cub drives around with a bottle of some country singer’s cologne in a silvery bottle – 😕 ….maybe I can work on him…

I think Cartier Declaration and Guerlain Vetiver are good, easy to find colognes that smell special but are not intimidating. Bulgari Black seems to be a love-it or hate-it perfume IMHO. Another good mall fragrance for men is Banana Republic Classic. Of course, if the Father in question is into perfume and the giftgiver’s pocketbook allows, I would recommend Creed Vetiver or Cristiano Fissore Rapsodia in Blu.

I love Declaration, too. Carol (WAFT)turned me on to that (I owe half my knowledge of certain ‘fumes to her – she’s like the Fume Fairy)…it’s a beauty, easily worn by men or women! I would love to give that to a man I was going to be smelling often (did I parse that sentence correctly? 😕

My dad loves gifts, but he hates when we spend too much money on them (typical father-wanting us to save), so we tried the men’s fragrances from Fragrance Rebel after seeing the Snoop Dogg campaign for it on facebook. They had some really great scents. I think he’ll be very please. I’ll be sure to let you know how he likes it.

I just wanted to thank you for this post–I took your recommendations and an open mind to Sephora today after work to pick up some smell goods for two of my dads (father and his partner; my mom’s new husband is not a fragrance lover, alas!). Having not given fragrance to my dad since I was a kid, I was a bit uncertain, but after a solid 15 minutes I walked out with Eau Sauvage for my dad and YSL L’Homme for his hubby. I gave them their gifts early since they’ll be out of town tomorrow and WOW!! They each loved what I had selected and after comparing their gifts, agreed that I had chosen well for them. Hooray!! Thank you thank you thank you for taking some of the angst out of Father’s Day shopping :x

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